An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Post by Lucas Mardling on May 12, 2020 21:13:03 GMT 10
Lucas didn't have much else to do with his time while he waited for dinner, so he headed to the Entrance Hall in hope of spotting some students in need. Not the kind that required any effort or foolish heroics on his part, of course, but the kind that made him rich and respected.
Hands stuffed in his pockets, he strolled down the stairs and towards a more noticeable spot between the staircase and various exits or entrances. Anyone who knew to look for Lucas would surely be able to find him with ease.
The problem was that he'd still be just waiting until, as he had no intention of seeking anyone out. Sighing at that oversight to his plan, Lucas dug in his bag for a book that was at least remotely interesting - yet wouldn't make him so busy he'd seem unapproachable.
Nothing. How was it he had nothing of interest to read? His bag was too full of other stuff, probably. He'd heard some Professors needed weird things so he'd bribed people and stocked up, knowing there were surely a few other students who'd be seeking them.
With a sulk, Lucas leaned his back against a wall and lazily crossed his arms. His way of passing the time waiting for dinner was to do more waiting. Not much to do about it now, except hope there was at least a decent profit to be made for such boredom. He really had no other bright ideas, except to start coming up with some better ideas because this one sucked.
Last Edit: May 12, 2020 21:13:32 GMT 10 by Lucas Mardling
Post by Lindsey Bryce on May 13, 2020 0:58:37 GMT 10
As she entered the Entrance Hall, she easily spotted Lucas and headed over towards him, a smile on her face as she looked at him. The older student did look a bit on the bored side, so maybe she could at least bother him a little. Once she was there, she put her bag tighter around her shoulder and stopped not far from him.
"Lucas?" She waited until she had his attention and when she did, she went on. "I was wonderin' if ye had any fireflies? I need a couple of jars for Professor Snape." She said mildly and bluntly, though she kept a pleasant tone to her voice. Her highland accent was thick and strong, some found it hard to understand.
Post by Lucas Mardling on May 13, 2020 21:02:08 GMT 10
Hearing his name, Lucas raised his eyebrows and straightened his posture. He recognised the Bryce girl, and remembered she was the subject of conversation during Charms class with Amara. Not that she knew that, of course. Lindsey was much more interesting to him now though - if Amara herself considered the girl worthy of making a deal with, then Lucas certainly intended to make sure things went smoothly now as well.
'A couple? So, two exactly?' he checked, getting out his notes. Lucas checked stock on fireflies, though knew he already had a whole container of them ready to go when needed. He had some in his bag as well, just in case this exact opportunity arose. 'All right. Simple enough. I'll need two jars, and that'll be... a galleon per ingredient?'
Lucas found the fact she had a highland accent made it easier to remember her. Luckily for him, he was familiar with the accent and was able to understand her better than perhaps others would. It did remind him how frustrating the opposite was when he was much younger though, before he'd gotten used to it and figured out what the bloody heck they were on about.
He waited for her to confirm their agreement. Hopefully she had the two jars on her, as that would be much more convenient. Lucas wasn't too happy with the two Galleons total payment, thinking it was worth a bit more, but she was a Slytherin and he was mostly true to his house. She was also going to be in trades with Amara, so it might work better in all their benefit for him to keep things fair. He wasn't going any lower than his offer though - good graces be damned.
'Two jars. Two Galleons.' Lucas held out his hand.
Post by Lindsey Bryce on May 13, 2020 22:34:45 GMT 10
As he asked about the number, she nodded to him as he pulled out a notebook before she spoke. "Aye, two." She said as she walked a little closer and waited to see what he might say next. As he requested two jars, she pulled them out of her bag along with two galleons that were in one of the pockets of her bag.
With those out, she handed them to him and smiled. "There ye are." She said once they were handed off. She honestly wasn't sure what else to do, but she waited to see if he had anything else to say.
Post by Lucas Mardling on May 13, 2020 23:04:34 GMT 10
'Thank you.' Lucas smirked, accepting the money first. He made notes, tucked away the Galleons in a special pouch he had on him at all times, then headed to a nearby bench to put his bag down.
He extracted a glass container filled with healthy, well-cared-for fireflies. Lucas accepted the jars from Lindsey - placing one on the bench, then using the other to collect some from his container. It had a special latch on the side, which enabled him to release a few into her jar then latch it again. It was the perfect amount for an ingredient.
He repeated the process with the second jar, then tucked his container back away in his bag. It was such a great thing he'd invested in the stupidly-overpriced bags early on or else he wouldn't be able to carry things like that around with him. The container wasn't big, but still.
'Here you go.' Lucas handed them to her, pleased to have made another deal and knew the fireflies were in excellent condition. He was smug at his pre-planning as well, knowing that students would be seeking weird and specific things lately. 'Pleasure doing business with you,' he added.
Lucas then returned to the bench and sat down, sighing in disappointment that he was now back to waiting. Unless anyone else needed something, which he hoped they would.
Post by Lindsey Bryce on May 13, 2020 23:10:48 GMT 10
As he prepared the fireflies for her, she had to admit that he was quick and organized in the way he did things. The bag was quiet interesting to say the least and she wouldn't mind a jar like that, but she didn't have the money or means to do that. As she was handed the jars, she smiled and tucked them away.
"Thank ye." And with that, she was gone for the afternoon.
Post by Grace Babineaux on May 15, 2020 0:49:55 GMT 10
Having a plan for that dinner was good. Grace has the start of the letter in her head, and she could pass the written part of it to Gerald during Dessert. She was happy to think about dessert after a busy day, and happier to remember that she might soon discover what was behind the door. She was walking to the hall where she spotted the deal kid. Nice!
”Deal kid!” Grace said, waving. He was a little strange to her, but his help for the potions had been nice, and he was useful. She walked right up, trying to look a little more bold. She was still one of the less bold members of Gryffindor, but she was still good at hiding it. ”Couldja get me a pumpkin? Or four?” She’d heard that one of the professors needed help, which she was always happy to provide.
Post by Lucas Mardling on May 15, 2020 1:48:38 GMT 10
Deal kid. He knew that voice.
Lucas was pleased to see the familiar first year. His best return customers were those who approached him young, so he built that reputation early and they didn't have time to find alternative means of obtaining things. Plus, first years tended to be rather gullible or impressionable.
'Pumpkins, eh?' Lucas checked his notes. 'I can gave you four, yeah. They'll be at 3 Galleons each. So you owe me 12 Galleons. Agreed?' He held out his hand, fully expecting her to agree. It was a fair price, though she was lucky he'd blackmailed someone into retrieving them for him. If he had to do that icky and awful gardening himself, those pumpkins would be worth their weight in gold.
Post by Grace Babineaux on May 15, 2020 1:57:43 GMT 10
Only 12 galleons? That was much easier than going out and gardening for them. She didn’t even know where she would find pumpkins. Didn’t Hagrid have some? Well, anyways, it was fine by Grace. ”Sure.” Grace said, shaking his hand a little vigorously. Well, for a first year, anyways. She looked behind him, as if expecting him to have them hiding behind him. She reached into her bag and found the Galleons, holding them until she got the pumpkins.
This was something more simple than the Polyjuice potions, so she was happy to just do business. Going to Lucas was like shopping, since she really couldn’t go to Hogsmeade. Could you even get pumpkin at Hogsmeade? She wanted to ask but it seemed a bit rude, since he was selling the pumpkins now.
Post by Ryan Barrow on May 15, 2020 2:09:48 GMT 10
Ryan arrived at the Entrance Hall. He hoped Toby and Joe came too, but didn't glance back as he was busy looking around for a Slytherin who looked useful. Grace seemed to be talking to one and it seemed like some sort of deal stuff going on, so he headed over there to find out. He'd overheard her asking for pumpkins, and that was all the confirmation he needed.
'Hi, Grace.' Ryan smiled at her, then glanced nervously at the older Slytherin. He almost backed out, but couldn't do that in front of his friends. And he really did want to help out, so he'd just have to ignore his nervousness and get it over with.
Ryan glanced at the older boy again, memorising what he looked like in case he ever had to find him again.
'Um, hi.' He fidgeted, trying to resit staring at his shoes instead of making eye contact. 'I'd like some pumpkins too, please? I want five, if that's okay? I have money. Not a lot but... How much are they?' Ryan hoped it was just money the Slytherin wanted, since he didn't have anything else of value. Just some leftover chocolate, but that's about it.
He briefly wondering if anything found in the forest might be valuable.
Post by Lucas Mardling on May 15, 2020 2:21:15 GMT 10
Lucas stared at his hand while Grace shook it. He had actually held it out for the money, but let her rather vigorously shake his hand instead. He then accepted the Galleons, instinctively wiping his hand once she'd freed it. At least she didn't have jam-hands.
He secured the money in his special pouch, then began retrieving pumpkins from within his bag. It was a struggle to pull it out as the bag opening was just big enough - but it was obvious now that his bag had several enchantments on it as there was no way he could casually carry so many large and ripe pumpkins around. Let alone fit them all in a simple shoulder bag.
'Four, as requested.' Lucas placed them carefully three the ground in front of her - with the fourth being dumped in her arms. They got a few odd looks from passerbys, but it was hardly the strangest thing he'd traded.
He glanced at an unfamiliar and nervous Ravenclaw boy who joined them, raising an eyebrow at the boy's manners. Someone who showed respect, finally. Lucas sighed, disappointed that he might have been able to scam a bit more from the boy had Grace not been right there. Oh well, any excuse to offload those stupid pumpkins...
'They're 3 Galleons each. I won't accept anything less,' Lucas said. His tone was firm, since the boy mentioned he didn't have a lot of money. 'So you owe me 15 Galleons, if you want all five pumpkins. What's your name?' He got out his notes, ready to add the new info. He kept track of each customer, as that was just smart business.
Post by Jonathan King on May 15, 2020 17:01:35 GMT 10
Joe followed beind Ryan yet slowed down a pace as they approached a tall Slytherin student. He noticed the Gryffindor girl that was in his year talk to him and figured the Slytherin had to be the trading guy.
Joe caught Ryan call the girl "Grace" and smiled at her sheepishly in greeting. He made a mental note to remember her name as it might be rude to not know your classmate's name should he ever Need to talk to her.
He watched with interest as Ryan made the deal with the Slytherin boy and Hearing it was 15 galleons for five pumpkins he weighed the money and the possible house points earned against the possible house points lost later and decided it would be worth it.
"How many pumpkins you got? Can I get the same as my friend for the same Price, please?"
Calling Ryan his friend felt much better than calling Ben so.
Post by Lucas Mardling on May 15, 2020 22:21:49 GMT 10
'And what's your name?' Lucas asked the other Ravenclaw boy who joined them, wanting the same deal as his friend. He held out his hands for each of their payments, then took the time to carefully count each Galleon before putting them away in his pouch.
He huffed, giving his bag a bit of a glare before he began the annoying process of lifting a total of ten large and ripe pumpkins from it. As with Grace, he placed most of them in front of the recipient - then the last one got dumped in both Ryan and what's-his-name's arms.
'Five each, as requested.' Lucas tried to sound fine, since he was so much taller than them and should also be even stronger. Fourteen pumpkins were a lot though, for a boy who avoided manual labor as if it was a disease. He winced, stretched to ease out any kinks, then sighed in relief it was done.
'Yes?' He eyed the other boy, eyebrows raised in both confusion and suspicion to being asked if he was a 5th year. Lucas got mistaken for a 6th year at times, since he was one of the tallest boys in his class, but it was still an odd question for a 1st year to care much about.
Anjay strolled into the Entrance Hall, the pre hunger pangs beginning to rumble in his stomach. Luckily dinner would start soon. Before he could enjoy a meal, however, he had other matters to attend to- Professor Hathmore needed a few pumpkins for an upcoming Halloween training, and Anjay intended to help one of his favorite professors procure some.
Not being the best at Herbology or particularly close with Professor Sprout, Anjay didn't feel comfortable trying to harvest the pumpkins himself from the pumpkin patch. Luckily, there were other ways to procure items in the castle, and a few enterprising students who were savvy enough to offer services to help out people like him, who didn't have the time to go the extra mile. One student in particular rose above the rest in this regard: Lucas Mardling.
Anjay had always liked Lucas. The Slytherin 5th year was obviously very resourceful and very street smart, two qualities that Anjay found commendable. He knew that with a keen sense of business and negotiation, Lucas would be successful in whatever path of life he chose to pursue after their time at Hogwarts came to a close. Anjay hoped to count Lucas among his many friends and contacts when he left Hogwarts and embarked on his career, whatever career that ended up being, with the Ministry.
He spotted Lucas easily in the Entrance Hall and approached him confidently. "Evening, Mardling," Anjay called out jovially, extending his hand to the boy for a friendly shake. "I need some pumpkins for Professor Hathmore and assumed you'd be just the person who could help me out."
Post by Lucas Mardling on May 15, 2020 23:01:31 GMT 10
Lucas stared at his hand while Anjay shook it. Why did people think he wanted to shake hands when making deals? He understood the polite and manners behind it though. He also didn't instinctively wipe his hands this time, as Anjay was okay and not likely to have touched anything gross recently.
'Right you are, Anjay.' Lucas grinned, feeling smug at the recognition. The fact the Gryffindor didn't greet him with a hex or insult made him worthy enough of fair prices. Not that he had much choice, since other customers were right there. He'd just have to make them the same for everyone today.
'How many would you like? Five seems to be the popular choice,' Lucas said. He paused to check his notes again, marking things off and adding information. He had a perfected system in place, and it was always important to stay organised with things like that.
He sighed at the annoyance of getting more pumpkins out of his bag, but the profits were piling in.
'Five pumpkins is 15 Galleons. That's 3 Galleons each,' Lucas explained. 'Do we have a deal?' He held out his hand, hoping this time he received gold coins rather than another shake.
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